1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a plant pot or a similar plastic container of deep-drawn plastic material having a stackable basic shape that is at least somewhat conical, wherein the stacking spacing is determined by two ledges which, in a plan view, at least partially overlap one another and which are connected to one another by an intermediate support area. In contrast to the shape needed for stackability, the intermediate support area has a width at the upper ledge that is smaller than a width at the lower ledge.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the case of stacking pots or containers, usually a coaxial stacking arrangement with a precisely defined stacking spacing or distance is demanded in order to provide predetermined packing conditions, to prevent jamming of the pots relative to one another, and to enable, if desired, an automated removal from the stack. In this connection, it is expedient to provide peripheral ledges as support surfaces in the area of the upper wall or in the area of the upper rim, wherein the upper rim itself may form such a ledge. Two stacked pots are then precisely positioned relative to one another with respect to their (axial) height, and also, if needed, centered, and are not pushed and jammed into one another as a result of the weight of high stacks or ambient loads.
However, two matching ledges in this context, which have substantially horizontally extending surfaces that face upwardly or downwardly and overlap in a plan view, cannot be easily realized in the case of deep-drawn pots because they require a Z-shaped course of the wall where the ledges are connected to one another by means of an intermediate support area. This intermediate support area extends conically opposite to the general conical configuration of the pot and presents an undercut when removing the pot from the deep-drawing mold.
During the shaping process, the pot rests against the inner side of a hollow mold and cannot be easily removed from this mold; instead, it is secured in this mold like a snap fastener and must be removed by overcoming this undercut. This is possible only to a limited extent. In the case of round plant pots having approximately a pot diameter between 8 and 20 cm made of polypropylene material, such undercuts are conventionally only provided so as to have a range of 0.5 to 1 mm (in any case, less than 1 percent of the pot diameter). Accordingly, the annual support surfaces of stacked pots are limited. The risk that the pots in the stack will deform under their own weight or when receiving external pressure and will slide into one another at least over portions of their periphery is significant. Such pots can be manually removed from their stacks only with difficulty, and automated removal is generally not possible at all. At the same time, the deformation in the stack creates the risk of overloading and damaging of the material as well as, for example, in the case of extended storage, the risk of permanent deformation.